Alekos Sofianidis

Alekos Sofianidis
Alekos Sofianidis
Personal information
Full name Alexandros Sofianidis
Date of birth (1933-08-03)3 August 1933[1]
Place of birth Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey
Date of death 6 July 2010(2010-07-06) (aged 74)[1]
Place of death Athens, Greece
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Positions
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1955–1958 Beyoğlu 53 (16)
1958–1959 Beşiktaş 3 (0)
1959–1969 AEK Athens 238 (11)
1969–1970 Panachaiki 3 (0)
Total 297 (27)
International career‡
1954 Turkey U19
1957 Turkey B 1 (0)
1959–1967 Greece 7 (0)
1960 Greece Olympic 1 (0)
Managerial career
1970 Panargiakos
1970–1971 Atromitos
1971–1972 Panelefsiniakos
1972 Atromitos
1973–1974 AEK Athens (assistant)
1974–1975 Ilisiakos
1978 Greece (assistant)
1988–1989 Greece
1999 Atromitos
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 January 2018
‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 January 2018

Alekos Sofianidis (Greek: Αλέκος Σοφιανίδης, Turkish: Aleko Sofyanidis; 3 August 1933 – 6 July 2010) was a Greek professional footballer who played as a left back and a later manager. He represented both Greece and Turkey internationally.

Club career

Beyoğluspor

Born in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul Province, Sofianidis began his career at his local Beyoğluspor.[2] Since he was a sports fan, he also played basketball and in was a track and field athlete specializing in throwing events, but he prioritized his football obligations. In 1953, he took first place in the javelin throw in the boys' category at the Istanbul Championship. Fast and dynamic, he competed on the wings of the offense and attracted the interest of the major clubs of Istanbul. During his spell at the club, he played with another Greek footballer, Aleko Yordan.

Beşiktaş

In 1958 Sofianidis was transferred to Beşiktaş. He competed at both legs of the first round of the 1958–59 European Cup, against Real Madrid. In the first leg at Santiago Bernabéu, the goalkeeper of Beşiktaş Varol Ürkmez was injured at the 84th minute and left the pitch and since there were no substitutions at the time, Sofianidis took his place for approximately 10 minutes, making two crucial saves. In the second leg in Istanbul, Beşiktaş managed a 1–1 draw, with Sofianidis providing the assist for Kaya Köstepen, who scored the club's first-ever goal in European competitions.[3][4] The events of the September 1955 and the difficult period that followed for the Hellenism of Istanbul, had deeply affected Sofianidis who was thinking of relocating to Greece. During a trip to Athens in 1958, he met the president of AEK Athens, Nikos Goumas, who invited him to join the club. He then began a correspondence with the official of the Greek club, Giorgos Tranopoulos with the exclusive subject of concern, his move to AEK.

AEK Athens

On 17 January 1959, AEK eventually submitted the sport's card of Sofianidis to the HFF and at the same time started negotiating with the TFF for the release of the player, so he can compete with the club. Sofianidis played only in friendly matches until the agreement with the Turks was reached and his move became official in the summer of 1959, which coincided with the start of the first championship with a national division in Greece. The arrival of Jenő Csaknády at the bench of AEK in 1962 also brought about a change of position for Sofianidis, since the Hungarian-German manager relocated him to the position of left wing-back, where Sofianidis spent the rest of his career standing out as one of the best footballers to play that position. In 1968, when AEK played against Fenerbahçe in the Balkans Cup final in 1968, Sofianidis did not accompany his club to Istanbul as he would have been liable for arrest by the Turkish authorities for not fulfill his military obligations. With AEK he won 2 Championships, as well as the 2 Greek Cups, while he was a key member of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1969.[5]

Panachaiki

In the summer of 1969 he was released from AEK and joined Panachaiki where he played for a season, before his retirement.[6]

International career

Sofianidis competed with Turkey U19 in 1954, while on 20 May 1957 he also represented the Turkey B, in a friendly 1–0 win over Egypt.[7]

Sofianidis was capped by Greece seven times.[8] He played his first national game on 15 November 1959 against Yugoslavia.[9][10] His last game for Greece was against Finland on 10 May 1967.[11][12]

Managerial career

On 6 May 1970, before gaining his coaching diploma, Sofianidis took charge of Panargiakos for the final five matches of the season.[13] Afterwards, he attended a coaching school at Leicester. On 9 August, he was appointed manager of Atromitos for a season.[14] On 5 August 1972 he returned to Atromitos for a very brief spell.[15][16] In the following season, he served as an assistant manager to Stan Anderson at AEK Athens,[17] until 18 April 1974, when the Englishman was fired.[18]

In 1988 Sofianidis was appointed manager of Greece. His first game was on 15 November 1988 against Hungary, where Greece won 3–0. Greece played seven matches under Sofianidis, winning three, drawing one and losing three.[19] He was also in charge during the infamous friendly against Turkey on 29 March 1989, losing 1–0. It was also his final match as national team manager.[20][21]

Personal life

Sofianidis was a gymnastics teacher by profession.[22] He had a pool's agency in Athens on Agios Meletios Street. He died on 6 July 2010 after a long battle with cancer at the age of 74.[23]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[24]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Greece 195910
196000
196100
196210
196310
196400
196510
196600
196730
Total70

Honours

AEK Athens

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Αλέκος Σοφιανίδης". football.aek.com.
  2. ↑ Kolokotsios, Lambros (18 July 2010). Αθλητικοί Φάκελοι (ΣΟΦΙΑΝΙΔΗΣ) [Sporting Capsules (Sofianidis)]. evrytanika.com (in Greek). Archived from the original on 18 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "History: Beşiktaş vs Real Madrid: UEFA Champions League 1958/59 R1". UEFA.
  4. ↑ "History: Real Madrid vs Beşiktaş: UEFA Champions League 1958/59 R1". UEFA.
  5. ↑ Καζαντζόγλου, Σταύρος (15 June 2019). "1968/69: Η πρώτη ελληνική ομάδα σε ευρωπαϊκή οκτάδα, η απογοήτευση εντός συνόρων". enwsi.gr.
  6. ↑ "Αλέκος Σοφιανίδης". aekpedia.com.
  7. ↑ "TÜRKİYE MISIR - Maç Detayları TFF". tff.org.
  8. ↑ "Greece matches 1961–1965" (PDF). epo.gr.
  9. ↑ "Greece - International Matches 1948-1960". RSSSF.
  10. ↑ "Greece matches 1956–1960" (PDF). epo.gr.
  11. ↑ "Greece - International Matches 1961-1970". RSSSF.
  12. ↑ "Greece matches 1966–1970" (PDF). epo.gr.
  13. ↑ "Ο Σοφιανίδης ανέλαβε τον «Παναργειακόν»!". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 7 May 1970. pp. 1, 5.
  14. ↑ "Ο Α. Σοφιανίδης στο Περιστέρι". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 10 August 1970. p. 7.
  15. ↑ "Ο Αλέκος Σοφιανίδης νέος προπονητής του Ατρομήτου". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 6 August 1972. p. 7.
  16. ↑ "Παρατηρήθη ο Σοφιανίδης δια λόγους αξιοπρεπείας". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 11 August 1972. p. 4.
  17. ↑ Αργύρης Κοκκινάκης (6 June 1973). "Ο κ. Χανιώτης παρουσίασε στους παίκτες τον Σοφιανίδη". Athletic Echo (in Greek). p. 7.
  18. ↑ "Για λόγους αξιοπρεπείας παρατηρήθη ο Σοφιανίδης". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 19 April 1974. p. 7.
  19. ↑ "Greece matches 1986–1990" (PDF). epo.gr.
  20. ↑ "International Matches 1988 - Europe". RSSSF.
  21. ↑ "International Matches 1989 - Europe, January-June". RSSSF.
  22. ↑ "Ο Σοφιανίδης καθηγητής χθες της Ε.Α.Σ.Α.". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 23 September 1969. p. 5.
  23. ↑ Εφυγε ο Αλέκος Σοφιανίδης [Alekos Sofianidis passed away]. contra.gr (in Greek). 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  24. ↑ Alekos Sofianidis at National-Football-Teams.com
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